Facebook Integration With Ticketmaster Shows Where Your Friends Are Sitting

A new level of integration between Facebook and Ticketmaster lets concertgoers see where their friends are sitting at upcoming concerts and events.

Hoping to make the process of buying tickets to concerts as social as attending them, Ticketmaster launched the new Facebook-enhanced seating charts recently, giving fans the option of buying seats near their friends.

After clicking the “find tickets” link for an event, users are given the option to log into their Facebook account. Any friends of theirs who have purchased a ticket and tagged themselves in the seating chart will show up accordingly on the venue’s floor layout.

Once tickets are purchased, a status update is sent to Facebook for all to see. If they’re interested in attending, they can click the “Buy Tickets” link that accompanies the update.

The feature is part of the ticket-selling giant’s renewed effort to remake itself as a more consumer-friendly and innovative company, according to an Fast Company story. Whenever fans posted on Facebook about concerts they’d just bought, the company would see an average $5.30 more in ticket revenue, CEO Nathan Hubbard said. It was those results that demonstrated to executives the power of social media when it comes to commerce. It’s fan-friendly and socially-driven inititatives like this that executives hope will help revitalize the slumping concert industry, which saw a 12% drop in sales from 2009 to 2010.